Substance

In a single issue, The Baltimore Sun had three articles I found interesting. The first was "Brown: Gansler comments 'reckless'" (April 23). I agree with the lieutenant governor that Attorney General Douglas Gansler's remarks show a lack of judgment about veterans and that he made a big mistake with his comment that Anthony Brown's service in Iraq was not a "real job. " I thank the lieutenant governor for his service and congratulate him on...

The banned amphetamine that will keep Chris Davis off the baseball diamond for 25 games has become a go-to for stressed college students and worn athletes looking for a quick boost of energy. Adderall acts like a "tremendous jolt of caffeine" that some have used to fight through fatigue before a big test or make it through a tough game, said Eric Strain, director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and Research. But the drug is not supposed to be used for that and is only approved to treat a few illnesses, including attention-deficit disorder and the sleeping ailment narcolepsy.

Right-hander Daniel McCutchen, whom the Orioles signed to a minor league deal this winter and was sent out of camp March 23, has been suspended for 50 games for violating the league's drug policy for using a banned substance. According to a Major League Baseball press release, McCutchen tested positive for Methenolone and a metabolite of Trenbolone. The suspension begins immediately. McCutchen, 29, was 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings over seven games this spring with the Orioles.

The Ravens' defense won't be competing against Cleveland Browns star wide receiver Josh Gordon this season. His one-year suspension for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy was upheld by the league after an appeal was heard by vice president Harold Henderson. Gordon played just one game against the Ravens last season, catching three passes for 44 yards. He was serving a two-game suspension for testing positive for codeine that kept him out of the Browns' first game against the Ravens last year.

TORONTO -- Left-handed pitcher Kevin Grendell, the Orioles' 11th-round pick in this June's amateur draft, has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for a substance banned under the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Grendell, who was 0-4 with a 7.27 ERA in seven starts with the Gulf Coast League Orioles, tested positive for Dehydroepiandrosterone, also known as DHEA. Grendell was selected with the 342nd overall pick out of San Pasqual High School in Escondido, Calif.

Mitt Romney's chosen running mate, Paul Ryan, is the reverse of Sarah Palin. She was all right-wing flash without much substance. He's all right-wing substance without much flash. Mr. Ryan is not a firebrand. He's not smarmy. He doesn't ooze contempt for opponents or ridicule those who disagree with him. In style and tone, he doesn't even sound like an ideologue -- until you listen to what he has to say. It's here -- in Mr. Ryan's views and policy judgments -- we find the true ideologue.

An employee at the Harford County Detention Center was exposed to a substance that investigators believe is narcotic, police said Thursday night. About 5:30 p.m. a female staff member was sorting incoming inmate mail at the detention center in Bel Air when she came into contact with an unknown substance and then started feeling light-headed and experienced a metallic taste, according to a statement by the Harford County Sheriff's Office. The mail room was evacuated and quarantined.

HE'S HARDLY Mr. Charisma or the Personality Kid, but Al Gore gave a compelling kick-off speech in Los Angeles last week for the upcoming presidential campaign. He put the emphasis where it belongs -- on sincerity and public policy issues. "I know I won't always be the most exciting politician," he said in one of his many moments of blunt honesty to his fellow Democrats. "I know that sometimes people say I'm too serious, that I talk too much substance and policy." But he's asking to be elected to a serious job. That point is worth repeating: Serious discussion of substance and policy is a virtue, not a vice.

By Ellen Gamerman and Tom Bowman and Ellen Gamerman and Tom Bowman,SUN NATIONAL STAFF | April 25, 1997

WASHINGTON -- A package oozing an unknown substance later found not to be life-threatening was discovered in the mailroom of the international headquarters of B'nai B'rith yesterday, prompting the quarantine of 108 employees into the evening and triggering a terrorist scare.No serious injuries were reported, although at least 14 people stripped to their underwear outside the building and were decontaminated by hazardous-materials experts with a spray of water and a bleach-like substance.The incident snarled traffic for hours around the downtown building of the Jewish service organization in northwest Washington, six blocks from the White House.

Substance abuse counselor Mike Gimbel's call for canceling Baltimore's Moonrise Festival raises an obvious question: Isn't there another "expert" on the subject who can actually speak objectively about substance abuse ( "Anti-drug advocate calls for Moonrise Festival to be canceled," Aug. 7)? With all due respect to Mr. Gimbel's intentions and expertise, his opinions and statements are no more than veiled attempts to keep himself relevant, and they appear to be frankly self-serving.

In March 2014, for the first time in over 40 years, a study of the therapeutic benefits of lysergic acid diethylamide - more commonly known as LSD - was published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. It showed that LSD-assisted psychotherapy significantly reduced anxiety in individuals with "life-threatening diseases," including Parkinson's disease and breast cancer . This study is part of a recent wave of clinical research on psychedelic substances like LSD and psilocybin - the psychoactive component of "magic mushrooms.

I expected nothing but effusive praise from major media for Hillary Clinton's new book, "Hard Choices," much like the mass exaltation they showered on Barack Obama, America's first African-American president. Initially that seemed where the reviews were headed. Prior to the book's official release June 10, the "journalists" on CBS "This Morning" spent nine minutes of barely restrained excitement promoting Ms. Clinton's book. Host Charlie Rose called it "a portrait of doggedness.

In a single issue, The Baltimore Sun had three articles I found interesting. The first was "Brown: Gansler comments 'reckless'" (April 23). I agree with the lieutenant governor that Attorney General Douglas Gansler's remarks show a lack of judgment about veterans and that he made a big mistake with his comment that Anthony Brown's service in Iraq was not a "real job. " I thank the lieutenant governor for his service and congratulate him on...

TORONTO - Before the fifth inning of the Orioles' 9-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, umpires inspected right-hander Miguel Gonzalez's glove for a foreign substance at the request of Toronto manager John Gibbons. They found nothing, but Gibbons said after the game they noticed something peculiar when watching Gonzalez on video. “We saw on the video it looked like he was going into his glove and rubbing his fingers going directly to the ball,” Gibbons said. “I know guys use stuff to get a better grip, but if you go directly to the ball ... we thought we'd take a look.

Anne Arundel County police are seeking a "person of interest" in the incident that occurred Saturday at Arundel Mills Mall in which someone set off fireworks inside the Cinemark Movie Theater. Police say someone ignited an unknown substance inside of a bottle at a screening of the movie "300: Rise of An Empire. " On Monday, police released photos of a person of interest in the case, and asked that anyone able to identify the person - or anyone with information regarding the case - contact Detective Marc Aguiar at 410-222-6155.

Plastic surgeon Ronald S. Perlman thrives in the limelight. He has served as a celebrity judge at top-flight beauty pageants, helped run a charity that assists abused women - even raffled off his services at a society auction. His Perlman Plastic Surgery Center, which specializes in breast implants and laser facial surgery, is a fixture in Washington's Spring Valley neighborhood, a few blocks from the Maryland line. He also ran a satellite office in Greenbelt for 15 years and is licensed in Virginia.

United Way of Central Maryland has reported a 19.5 percent increase in the number of people receiving substance abuse prevention and treatment services from member agencies last year.Substance-abuse services reached a record 38,271 people in 1990 through eight agencies, which received a total of $568,000 from United Way, said spokesman Mel Tansill.The services ranged from individual counseling and substance abuse-related delinquency prevention services to comprehensive family services to prevent suicide, the spokesman said.

Starting in December, gay, bisexual and transgender Marylanders recovering from substance abuse will be able to receive LGBT-focused resources and services at Baltimore's LGBT community center. Through a partnership with Maryland RecoveryNet, a federally-funded initiative meant to increase access to support services for those recovering from drug addiction, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB) will begin providing LGBT-focused recovery support services.

A Towson gynecologist has been temporarily barred from practicing medicine after a state and federal investigation allegedly uncovered images of female genitalia on his phone, as well as evidence he used and distributed illicit drugs and had an affair with a patient. The Maryland Board of Physicians suspended Dr. John Yacoub's medical license, saying in an Oct. 8 order that emergency action was needed to address risks to public health and safety. Yacoub has worked as an OB/GYN and directed minimally invasive surgery centers at both Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Saint Agnes Hospital, and most recently worked in a private practice at GBMC.